German occupation of Norway: Difference between revisions

By the end of the war, German occupation had reduced Norway's [[GDP]] by 45% &ndash; more than any other occupied country.<ref>Klemann, Hein A.M. and Sergei Kudryashov (2011). ''Occupied Economies: An Economic History of Nazi-Occupied Europe, 1939-1945''. Berg, p. 403.</ref> In addition to this came the physical and patrimonial ravages of the war itself. In [[Finnmark]], these were considerably important, as large areas were destroyed as a result of the [[scorched earth]] policy that the Germans had pursued during their retreat. Moreover, many towns and settlements were damaged or destroyed by bombing and fighting.

 

The adversity strengthened and further defined the Norwegian national identity. The history of the resistance movement may have been glorified excessively, but it has also provided Norwegian military and political leaders with durable role models. The shared hardship of the war years also set the stage for [[Nordic model|social welfare policies]] of the post-war [[Norwegian Labour Party]] governments. It also led to the abandonment of Norway's [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutrality]] policy, formalized when Norway became a founding member of [[NATO]]. Finally, it led to a broad political and popular commitment to maintain [[Norwegian Armed Forces|armed forces]] large enough to realistically defend the country against any likely threat, as well as to keep those armed forces under firm civilian control.

 

One can also see some psychological impact on the political decisions made by the Labour government in the following years. Almost the entire cabinet had been prisoners of war, or had been fighting in the resistance. This experience may have been formative for the actual policy.{{citation needed|date=January 2011}} {{original research|date=April 2013}}

 

The primary Luftwaffe day fighter unit dedicated to serve in the area of Norway, ''[[Jagdgeschwader 5]]'' (5th Fighter Wing), was the unit that used more of the surviving World War II German fighter aircraft than any other in the forces of the [[Axis powers]] during World War II. The complement of surviving German fighter aircraft that once served with JG 5 comprises some twenty examples of the [[List of surviving Messerschmitt Bf 109s|Messerschmitt Bf 109]], and several examples of the radial-engined versions of the [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190 operational history#Survivors|Focke-Wulf Fw 190]]. A small number of JG 5's surviving aircraft have been recently restored to flying condition as [[warbird]] aircraft with various organizations that fly them in airshow events, and a few others that served with JG 5 are also in the process of being restored to flying condition, early in the 21st century.